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We got our lab when my youngest was 3. I always gave her, her kong with a biscuit in the laundery room - gated when my kids had a meal or snack. Sometimes if it was a quick snack like a cookie I put a long light weight line on her and me. I dont her to lie down and stay - if she got up I had the end and put her down again. Served as a great time to train too. Mind you during this last wk with Kodee wrapping me around her finger I need to work on training myself to not forget all these great tips before I have a monster on my hand!

You could train him to always wait for your command before he takes any food. (easier said than done ) I have done this a little with the boys and tried to teach them some patience with taking food also as they would run and snap it out of my hand or the leave it command could be a good one. These two will pay off time and time again in other instances aswell.

Do you have access to an x pen where you can watch them both but there is some distance between them and time out for both?

All your ideas are great. Well I started to get Dylan into a sit before I gave him his dinner and put my hand on his chest and told him to stay. When he stopped lunging (spelling?) for a few moments I let him eat. I also put a little piece of chicken on the floor and told him to stay. I can't believe it's working already. Now I don't have to hold him, I just lift the food if he goes before I said ok. I'll work on it.

I did think of using the play pen for the Jorja. She is so cute, she was getting grumpy at 11 so I cuddled her and she fell asleep on me. Yum! Oh and as soon as the crate was opened, she climbed in with Dylan! I'd show you the pic but she's not mine and some people don't put pics of their kids online.

Whoa, hang on here; while I think this advice is fine for a child of a much older age, and if you have weeks in which to train Dylan to behave more politely, there is just no way this is appropriate for a one year old or any toddler -- the child is way too young and a dog cannot be trusted to behave when a child is waving food around! : That's asking for a lot of self control he hasn't been trained to have in this particular circumstance and this child is way too young and small to think sensibly or follow your directions on how to interact with Dylan.

This: **Dylan should not have access to a one year old, EVER, and a one year old should not have access to Dylan.** Please folks, do NOT allow your cavalier access to toddlers and young children and vice versa; this is a potential nightmare. Dog attacks can be sudden even from the most placid family dog -- a cavalier's teeth could as easily (and accidentally) maim or even kill a child as a pit bull and don't ever take the risk of thinking otherwise. This is such a serious issue, and a dangerous mix on both sides.

All interactions need to be totally supervised with you holding Dylan or the baby. Otherwise either the baby needs to be confined or Dylan needs to be confined. Either could be seriously hurt with tragic results if they can freely interact. If Dylan bites a child *even by accident*, in many places this would mean he could be PUT DOWN as a legal requirement!! This point was made on It's Me or the Dog a few months back and is true for the UK.

All this must be a consideration if you make the decision to look after any young child when a dog is also in the house. But very especially with a toddler, who will think of the dog as a huggable stuffed toy. Most bites worldwide are to CHILDREN, by FAMILY DOGS, to the FACE ( a whopping 77% of them!!)... and again I stress this is just as likely to happen with a cavalier as a larger dog that we may think of as scarier or more aggressive. As one dog trainer hs said, any dog has a mouthful of the equivalent of carpet knives. Another notes you need to think of a dog as a scissors left in a room, and behave accordingly with a small child (would you leave it to play with a scissors?). Lots of dangerous attacks to kids come because kids cannot read dog warning language and many dogs HATE hugs, pokes, surprise grabs, hair pulling.... or just one day may find it has tolerated enough. Children are the most bitten because adults think 'but he's just the family dog/she loves children/isn't it cute when little Tommy hugs Fido so tightly like that'.... DO NOT RISK A CHILD!!

And also: please never, ever let a child climb in a crate with a dog. That's such a dangerous, enclosed space and exactly the situation in which a dog may turn and bite. On the dog's side -- a dog should always be reassured that a crate is a safe private area and especially a no-children area. Or it can undo all the work we do at crate training.

i was thinking what karlin was saying while reading this thread. a child that small is a baby and can't protect herself.

i would be afraid that dylan could accidentally scratch her face with his toenails. belle has done that to me a few times recently. i dont' expect it because i'm used to zack and he never does that, so i'm caught off guard. Belle jumps up with her front paws held high, and doesn't distinguish betwen my face and the rest of my body, whereas zack never tries to put his feet on my face. i bend down to pet and greet them, and belle is excited and friendly and jumps up with her paws held high. today i got it on the lip, ouch. A one year old has such soft skin. dylan could hurt her by accident while being friendly and acting like a puppy.

you can train him and supervise him but it would always be an unpredictable thing.

I didn't leave them on their own ever btw but thanks for the advice. I agree about her not getting into the crate, she does it at home with her dogs. I'll have to rethink the baby sitting. We start a highly recommended puppy class today.

I don't think there's any reason not to look after the child (particularly as it's not frequent), but I agree 100% with Karlin's comments.

Incidentally I have a friend who has 2 springer spaniels + foster dogs. She also has a 3 y/o daughter. The dogs are always crated when the little girl is eating her meals. Likewise, when the dogs are eating, the little girl is in a different room. I've never met such a responsible child with dogs than this little girl, but her mum still wouldn't take any chances.

Hi Pauline, Please dont stop babysitting. There are ways for you to do that and in my opinion you are doing the right thing. I have a 19 month old and I taught my dogs to wait and leave. Trinity( my baby) doesnt go in their crates if they are in them, but she does have fun "training" Jeremy to go in and come out. I am always with her with my dogs around and they go outside or into there crates at meal and snack times. Dont panic about anything either if something happens cos it will make it worse. Like if baby does have a bikky stolen out of her hand just give her another one and calmly put Dylan away, but hopefully it wont happen again. Dylan will see the child as a fellow puppy and he needs to learn what is and isnt acceptable just like the baby does. And at least you will know that Dylan wont freak out if in the future you have grandchildren because he will have been properly socialised with kids.

Thanks Selina. I do love to spend time with little kids. I'm 39 and I'd had my two children by the time I was 19. I've spent the last...17 years being broody! Actually as I get older it's wearing off, thankfully. Like you say, it's very important for him to be good with kids, epecially as one day in the future I hope to be a full time grandmother!

It's no problem separating them while she eats, Dylan doesn't mind his crate. She did feed him the first fig roll (I took it off him) so he thought he could take the second.

We started the puppy class today and they do the Canine Good Citizen training. Jumping up is a big no no. Dylan was so singled out for being the cutest puppy there today. The trainer asked to borrow him to show him to one of the ladies in the previous class, she loved him. All but one of the dogs were very good. For a puppy class, they all looked fully grown to me.